Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Diptych

I presented the headbangers group the topic "Diptychs" and this article from the Digital Photography School with lots of lead time, so we should see some very interesting headers this week. I didn't have anything planned in advance when I gave it, but I knew I could combine some pictures from my files to pull together some great ideas and probably get some new shots. Life got in the way in the meantime, but I think while I was working on it I came up with some cool stuff.

The definition of the diptych being two images juxtaposed that tell a story. It might be a contrast, a different perspective...lots of possibilities.

Here are the combinations I put together.

Then and now:
Living in a rural area in the West and traveling frequently by car, we see lots of examples of the old and the new. The windmill on the left is one we saw at the San Tan Regional Park in Arizona, though I could have used a shot from Washington, Oregon, California or possibly Idaho, Utah, or Nevada. Though sometimes still in use to pump water, most of this type of windmill that remain are a relics of history and the early electrification of rural America.

The wind machines on the right are a descendant of the old ones, producing electric power in many parts of the world. These happen to be in South Central Washington. They are in the Goodnoe Hills where wind turbine research took place for many years before the scene shown here became common. We have seen such wind farms in other parts of Washington, in Oregon, and in more than one area of California. We are scheduled for a tour of a wind farm (good Lord willing) this coming weekend and I expect to have some great pictures to share.

Bengiraffe
Giraffes are my favorites. Well, and so are my grandkids. This is Benjie doing his best to be a giraffe at the San Francisco Zoo a couple of years ago. You can see that I did some work on this one to edit in almost the same background, as Benjie's ears and horns were painted on a white wall. Too bad I didn't get him with his tongue out, but the grin is infectious.

Mt. Rainier is infectious, too.
I label my Mt. Rainier blogposts Mountain Madness, because that is what I must have. Can't get enough of it, but unfortunately haven't been there since October. The picture on the left was taken on a hike earlier last year, July if I recall correctly. The other view was about ten years ago when my flight to Arizona took us over the top of the mountain on a relatively clear day. Another grandkid was involved in that as I was a surprise guest at my daughter's baby shower.

Hmm, a diptych of summer and winter in the same location would be excellent as well. Or of the same plants in different stages

Anemone or Pasque Flower
 The one on the left was take mid-July and the one on the right mid-August. (I admit they are not the same plant, but the same kind separated by about a month in time--well in different years.)

From a tiny acorn a mighty oak...
Somehow I think that this one does the best at the part of the definition of the diptych telling a story. And once again a grandson--the youngest, Anthony, who was 3½ at the time we took this last summer. What might he do with those acorns, and if he were to drop them and come back fifteen, twenty, forty years later would he see...?

If this were a triptych I might have put this oak in the middle.
I wonder how long it had been since it was like the acorn in Antosha's hand. (Antosha is a Russian nickname for Anthony.)
 
 
It was a challenging theme. Check out my headbanger friends whose links are in my sidebar. They post anytime up to noon my time on Wednesday.


6 comments:

Lew said...

Nicely done! The wind power is interesting. One of the early2 megawatt turbines was built on a mountain near Boone, NC where my uncle lived. He said the whole town could hear the rumble when it was in operation. It was visible from the Blue Ridge Parkway - looked like a bus on a tower with a 100-foot propeller - not like today's sleek turbines.

imac said...

From little Acorns to Mighty Oak
Neat work Kathy.

Craver Vii said...

The diptych was a smart idea! Thanks for the suggestion. :-)

That little dude sure does have an infectious smile.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Enjoyed your show Kathy, you had some neat captures.

heritagemom said...

Wow, I love how you combined the images for your diptychs. They all are great, especially the windmills and the giraffe pair (so cute!).

Liz Hinds said...

I love the anemones - and, of course, Bentjie!